A catch up

 

 

 

 

Since my last entry I have played an awful lot of golf and never seemed to have the time to update the blog, so its time for a catch-up.

As regular readers will know,  play a lot of matchplay for the club and have had a very good record, n fact I had gone about 20 matches singles matches n team competitions with no defeats and just one half. This good record has now come to and end and in fact I have played 3 times recently and lost them all. firstly in the Bell Cup at Leigh, where I got beat quite badly and the team also lost 4-3 to exit the competition. I have to say that I felt really bad about letting the team down. A few days later we had our return match against Ashton in the Handicap Shield and I was playing the same girl I had beaten 5&3 at their place. the tables were well and truly turned and I lost the match 5&4!

The 3rd defeat was last week in another shield match at Manchester Golf Club. I love Manchester, its a cracking course and I hit the ball pretty well, but I was completely out putted, especially over the last 3 holes, where, after I got back from 4 down to only one down, my opponent holed singled putts on each green, where I missed from 4 feet on the 16th and then 3 feet on the last to lose the match by one hole.

We have also played another round in the Archie Preston mixed knockout and although my partner and I won our match, mostly due to my partner's chipping, the team lost and so we are out of that competition too.

Earlier in the season I had qualified, with my partner for the Area final of the Scott Leggatt, a Lancashire Ladies foursomes competition. We played this at Walmersley, a lovely little course on the hills above Bury, sadly we didn't do too well and failed to progess, I have to admit that one reason for this, was my short game over the early holes, where I messed up from good positions.

So far this entry has been a tale of failures and here is another but this tme down to stupidity not poor golf. As a fan of Blackpool FC I play every year in a BFC supporters golf day at Garstang golf course. This year I played pretty well and in fact I finished just one point behind the winner. The competition is a Stableford and on one one hole, I didn't think I received a shot and so picked up my ball when I missed a putt for a bogey, however I had misread the card and did in fact get a shot on that hole. So gave away the point which would have meant I won the competition.

 

I have also played in a Lancashire Seniors team competition at Formby Ladies

, and invitations at Davyhulme and Hesketh, All very enjoyable but without any success. Do enjoy invitations and am grateful to have already been invited to play n two, with another to come later in the season. It is just a shame that I can only invite one of the ladies back to Ellesmere to play in ours.

 

 

 

So its time something a bit more upbeat. In the competitions at Ellesmere over the last few weeks I have played very steadily making the buffer or better n every competition, and I did get my lowest score to date n the captain's prize last weekend when I had a gross 85 although a double bogey on the last did take a little gloss of the round and I finished one shot behind the leader. My score was enough to get me a small handicap cut of 0.6, which now makes my handicap 14.5, my lowest so far, my playing handicap is unchanged at 15.

So finally I am nearly up to date, just last week's medal competition to report. I had been feeling good and was hitting the ball well. I started well and after my first ever eagle on the 8^th hole, I was only 2 over par and a bogey on the 9^th meant, my lowest ever front nine score in a competition of 39. I just missed for a par on the 10^th and then things started to go wrong, after 3 putting from the frnge on the 11^th, I 3 putted the 12^th and 13^th as well, After pars ant 14 and 15 I then took 4 shots from just short of the 16^th and 17^th before a par on the last gave me a score of 47 on the back 9. A total of 86 gross, nett 71 was under the SSS of 72, but there were a lot of good scores and so the CSS was set at 71, so I missed out on the 0.3 reduction which would have reduced my handicap to 14 for the first time.

It seems that a regular theme running through my blog is my poor short game, playing well but then messing up around the green. I really should not be taking more than 3 shots when close to the green, but I seem to do it far too often. I did go to the Manchester Putting lab at Manchester Golf Club yesterday, in an attempt to improve my putting, I had a good session there and it will interesting to see if the changes suggested show an improvement over the next few weeks.

So to round this entry of here is a blow by low account of Thursday's round.

Hole 1

My tee shot came up short of the green, a reasonable chip and 2 putts gave my a bogey 4.

Hole 2

A Good drive was followed by a poor 2^nd but a good pitch and a 3 foot putt gave me a par 4.

Hole 3

Another good drive and a lay up before the ditch was followed by a pulled 6 iron to the left of the green, left a tricky chip over a bunker, I decided to be sensible and just made sure I got the ball on the green, 2 putts then gave me a bogey 6.

Hole 4

My 7 iron found the green and 2 putts gave me a par 3.

Hole 5

A good drive but another pulled 2^nd left me amongst some trees, I managed to find the green and 2 putted for a bogey 5.

Hole 6

A good drive but a poor second left me around 100 yards from the green, I hit a good wedge and 2 putted for a par 5.

Hole 7

My drive was a bit high but straight and then hit a decent long iron that unfortunately found a green side bunker. I got out and 2 putted for a bogey 5

Hole 8

I hit another good straight drive and then slightly topped a 3 wood, fortunately I hit it straight and it ran onto the green to leave a 10 foot putt for an eagle and I holed the putt for my first ever eagle.

Hole 9

I played safe and went for the left of green, I hit it a little too left but chipped on and 2 putted for a bogey 4.

39 shots for the first nine with an eagle, 3 pars and no double bogies was my best start to a round.

Hole 10

Another rather high drive was followed by a 3 wood which was too far right and left a chip from the rough below the green . Although I did thin it the ball somehow finished about 6 feet from the hole, I couldn't make the most of tit though and missed the par putt, so a bogey 5.

Hole 11

A reasonable drive and then I laid up in front of the ditch, I hit a 9 iron pn high but to the left hand fringe and I hit a poor first putt and missed my 10 foot putt for a par so a bogey 6.

Hole 12

My 3 wood came up a little short and a hit a poor chip to leave a long par putt, I ht the ground before the ball and the putt barely went half way, 2 more putts meant my first double bogey of the round, a 5.

Hole 13

A good drive and then my second shot unluckily caught a bunker at front of the green, I got it out but only to the bank of the bunker, then hit the ground when making my chip so only just found the green, I then hit a poor first putt and missed the 2^nd so finished with a triple bogey 7.

Hole 14

My tee shot found the green and 2 putts gave me a par 3

Hole 15

A lovely long drive and a decent 3 wood left a pitch to the green, a found the green and although my first putt was rather long I holed the return for a par 5.

Hole 16

I hit a good drive which took a wicked kick on landing and bounced to the right and into the trees

I knocked it out ok but then underhit a pitch and then thinned another and the ball ran off the back of the green, 2 putts from there for a double bogey 6.

Hole 17

I hit a lovely drive and I was very tempted to try and clear the ditch with my second, however I was tying to play sensibly and so went to lay up with a wedge, sadly it bounced more than I expected and left me with a downhill lie, so instead of taking a wood for my 3^rd shot hit an iron and the ball just failed to reach the top of the slope which would had let the ball run down the steep bank to be close to the green. Tried to hit a lob wedge n an attempt to get the ball close to the hole but I thinned it and the ball ran through the back of the green, I chipped a bit short and then took 2 putts for another double bogey, this time a 7

Hole 18

I hit a decent tee shot, which ran up to about 6 feet from the hole but I missed the birdie putt so finished with a par 3.

So 47 shots on the back nine for a total of 86, Quite pleasing but I threw away at least 4 shots on the back nine due to my poor short game.

One final comment for this blog, earlier n the season my partner and I won our club's qualifier for the Coronation foursomes and we found out this week that our score was good enough to qualify us for the regional final to be played next month.